Reader Favorite: Cuban Pork Tenderloin

Hog-tied for inspiration on which cut of pork to throw on the grill, let
alone how to grill it? The Ohio Pork Producers Council offers the
following recipe, and Ohio chef Jonathan Bennett provides his preparation advice.

This story originally appeared in the September 2011 issue of Ohio Magazine.

Jonathan Bennett doesn’t think of pork as an acceptable alternative to
the hamburgers, hotdogs and steaks that end up on the typical summer
cookout menu. As the son of a North Carolina pig farmer, he considers it
the only alternative. The executive chef/partner at Moxie, The Restaurant, and Red, the Steakhouse,
both in the Cleveland suburb of Beachwood, rhapsodizes about the meat’s
versatility, both in terms of the variety of cuts suitable for the
grill and the many ways they can be prepared on it.

“With a piece of chicken, you put it on the grill, and when it’s done,
you pull it off,” he says with disdain. “But with a piece of pork!” His
voice brightens considerably. “It could be a shoulder that you put on an
indirect flame, and [it] sits there for the next six to eight hours
until it’s fork-tender and smoky. Or it could be a tenderloin that comes
off the grill minutes later.”

That versatility has been enhanced by new cooking guidelines issued by
the U.S. Department of Agriculture that yield tastier results. The old
mandate of cooking pork to 160 degrees Fahrenheit “quite ensured
dryness,” Bennett says. But pork chops, roasts and tenderloins now can
be safely enjoyed medium-rare by cooking to a final internal temperature
of 145 degrees Fahrenheit (as measured by a food thermometer), then
allowing the meat to rest for three minutes before serving. (Ground
pork, like all ground meat, should still be cooked to 160 degrees;
pre-cooked ham can still be reheated to 140 degrees or eaten cold.)

The Ohio Pork Producers Council
notes that pork is generally much leaner than it was when the cooking
guidelines were last updated 18 years ago. Bennett adds that the risk of
contracting trichinosis, a disease associated with consuming
undercooked pork, has been greatly reduced by strictly regulating the
animals’ diet.

“In the old times, pigs ate whatever you fed them,” he explains. “That’s not the case anymore.”

Bennett says that unlike beef, the taste and texture of pork doesn’t
benefit from being cooked to anything less than medium-rare. He actually
prefers his pork chops and blade steaks (inch-thick slices of the
shoulder) served medium, his whole shoulder “beyond well done.”

“When the proteins change and set, [the meat] just has a much better mouth feel to it,” he says.

To ensure tenderness, Bennett suggests brining, or soaking the meat in a
refrigerated gallon of water to which 1-1/2 cups kosher salt has been
added. The process replaces some of the protein-rich juices with salt
water, in turn preventing the meat from “tightening” and forcing out the
moisture during cooking. It also seasons the meat through and through.
“If it’s a pork tenderloin, you might want to brine it for three or four
hours,” he advises. “If it’s a larger crown roast, you might want to
brine it for eight hours.” He also recommends using a very hot grill
unless you’re slow-cooking a whole pork shoulder or smoking a crown
roast.

“It’s so much easier to pull something over to a cooler spot on the
grill once it gets enough color than it is to try to get more color when
it’s starting to overcook,” he says.
Cuban Pork TenderloinCourtesy of the Ohio Pork Producers Council